OLPC review

Hello all,

You might find this interesting:

   
http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2008/01/17/review_xo_laptop_hands_on/print.html

The hardware problems and hobbled features as described are
disappointing to say the least.  Those aside, the hardest landing punch
is probably as follows:  "Most of these changes come down to the OLPC
organisation placing more emphasis on real-world usability and less on
their ideals of a perfect interface. If they can manage to do this, the
XO laptop could be a great tool for learning and play."

Bill



Wilhelm K. Schwab, Ph.D.
University of Florida
Department of Anesthesiology
PO Box 100254
Gainesville, FL 32610-0254

Email: [hidden email]
Tel: (352) 846-1285
FAX: (352) 392-7029

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Hi,

On Jan 19, 2008 7:53 PM, Bill Schwab <[hidden email]> wrote:
> You might find this interesting: ...

um. All rightly mentioned annoying facts aside, this reviewer made
some of the common mistakes, making direct comparisons between XO and
Eek (scnr), applying his 1st-world-nation spoilt view on the technical
requirements (cf. what he writes about multimedia support and tabbed
browsing).

Most reviews (and, unfortunately, most people's opinions and attitude
towards the XO) are driven by requirements they believe are crucial
for a low-cost sub-notebook today, instead of what the idea of OLPC is
all about. The project's goals are what should drive the reviews.
Regarding said goals, the reviewer certainly has some points...

All that aside, what made me smile is that an experienced sysadmin
couldn't manage to open the thing without consulting the manual. Maybe
I'm still thinking like a child in this regard, but it took me about
30 seconds. No manual needed. :-)

Best,

Michael
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Michael Haupt wrote: I agree. But the interface has some quirks that get annoying, The
"frame" pops up way to easy, maybe because I use a mouse :-) I never
liked the little touch stylus thingies.

The Journal is really slow and big files grind it to a halt. I had
problems copying over files from a USB and a few times the whole
internal flash memory gets corrupted and I have to reflash the whole
machine :-(

The ebook reader is a bit slow rendering pages, and it does not seem to
remember where I left off reading. Reader should have some annotation,
maybe there is but I have not seen it.
> Most reviews (and, unfortunately, most people's opinions and attitude
> towards the XO) are driven by requirements they believe are crucial
> for a low-cost sub-notebook today, instead of what the idea of OLPC is
> all about. The project's goals are what should drive the reviews.
> Regarding said goals, the reviewer certainly has some points...
>  
I was thinking about the issue that a "slow" computer like XO could use
some heavy optimization in software, but that would break the source
code readability, which is kind of important on a platform like this. I
guess one have to weight the pros against the cons.

I think most tabbing and multimedia etc. will be solved by additional
Activities and they don't matter too much on a "slow" third world
internet connection.
> All that aside, what made me smile is that an experienced sysadmin
> couldn't manage to open the thing without consulting the manual. Maybe
> I'm still thinking like a child in this regard, but it took me about
> 30 seconds. No manual needed. :-)
>  
I had to look at the web as well :-)
Overall I like the machine. It's a really good ebook, and Etoys are
getting better and better every day on it.

Karl
> Best,
>
> Michael
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>  

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